Calendar of Events

Opening night, February 5

1714 Andy Holt Avenue on the UT Campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.org

Knoxville’s favorite history writer, Jack Neely, will be delving into his book about Market Square at the Thursday, February 4 meeting of the Knoxville Writers’ Guild. Neely’s recently-published Market Square: A History of the Most Democratic Place on Earth will be the major point of focus at his Guild appearance, which will also include the writer’s reflections on another current volume, Knoxville: This Obscure Prismatic City. In addition; Neely will be speaking about the challenges of writing in the long form, for those who are more familiar with composing 1,000-word essays.

Open to the public and held at the Laurel Theater at the corner of Laurel Avenue and 16th Street (in Fort Sanders). A $1 donation is requested at the door. The building is handicapped accessible. For more information, contact Jeff Gordon, 865-330-3606, www.knoxvillewritersguild.org

The Whigs have a new album set for a March 2, 2010 release, In The Dark is an explosive collection of songs that capture the band’s on-stage passion (a trait synonymous with the band’s live show). Jon Pareles of The New York Times praised the band for their “two-chord guitar and drums furor worthy of The Who.” Sharing the bill is Knoxville’s own Royal Bangs. The Bangs’ sound is rooted in the indie rock renaissance, with hook-heavy arrangements coupled with earnest echoes of fervid 70s rock. Let It Beep is their most recent album. This show will rock. Information: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com

Wed, February 3 - Julia Bryan-Wilson
Wed, February 17 - Philis Alvic
Thurs, February 25 - Jennifer Sorkin
Wed, March 10 - Nick DeFord
Wed, March 17 - Laura Liu
Thurs, March 25 - Christy Matson

KMA Hours: Tues-Thurs 10-5; Fri 10-8; Sat 10-5; Sun 1-5. 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916. 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org, info@knoxart.org

The Art Market Gallery of Knoxville will spotlight two member artists: Pat Herzog, pottery and Brenda Mills, paintings. The Gallery will host a First Friday Reception for the Featured Artists on Friday, February 5, from 5:30-9:00 PM with Gil Draper playing Irish music.

The Art Market Gallery is located at 422 S. Gay St. in downtown Knoxville. Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM and Sunday, 1:00-5:00 PM.
For more information, call 865-525-5265 or visit www.artmarketgallery.net

The Town of Farragut Arts Council announces Hugh Bailey as featured artist for February and March. The exhibit features a variety of woodcut prints that are both whimsical and charming. Hugh Bailey is a native of Virginia. He earned his BA in art from Berea College and a MFA from Indiana University. Mr. Bailey was employed with the University of Tennessee for 41 years as a graphic designer. He is currently a member of the Southern Highland Handcraft Guild, Foothills Craft Guild and the Knoxville Watercolor Society. Each month the work of an artist or group of artists is featured in specially designed cases on the second floor of the rotunda in the Farragut Town Hall. For more information about this exhibit or to access a Featured Artist of the Month application, please contact Anne LaGrow at anne.lagrow@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057 or visit www.townoffarragut.org/artscouncil. The Farragut Town Hall is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive directly across from the Farragut Branch Post Office.

Here in our quiet corner of Northeast Tennessee, we have compelling reasons to celebrate Black History Month. The exhibit, including 4 works from The Nathanael Greene Museum, will grace the lobby of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center, adjacent to Greeneville High School. The exhibit features thirty pieces by eighteen Tennessee artists and is open to the public in the lobby of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center, with additional evening viewing when there are performances in the auditorium. Portraits were a favorite approach among the contributing artists, many of whom have been featured in this column. Michele Howe focused on Lena B. Lee, founder of the Negro Women's Civic Club, William “Uncle Bill” Johnson, the youngest of Andrew Johnson's former slaves who died in Knoxville in 1943, and Arthur Hill, WWI veteran and founder/commander of the American Legion Col. Young Post 188. Mother and daughter team Terri and Amanda Asbury created a joint project in multimedia sculpture and photographs of the monument to Zachariah Bennett in Bethesda Presbyterian Cemetery. The title of their collaboration, “From Slavery to Prosperity” was inspired by the imposing monument over Bennett's grave, which bears the inscription “He was a well-to-do colored man”. Quilting artists Jody Palm and Regina Conner display pieces that celebrate the historic connection between quilts and the Underground Railroad. Quilt patterns of the period sometimes contained visual clues for those planning a bid for freedom. Painter Marie Merritt has produced an evocative image of a slave girl at her daily work as well as a breathtaking portrait of a young Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. . Popular dollmaker Jane Hughes has paid tribute to the 'second' Johnson family with whimsical “Raggedy Dolly” and “Raggedy Sam” inspired by Andrew Johnson's slaves, freed in 1863. The Nathanael Greene Museum has loaned paintings by Greeneville's historian and archivist of the African American community, Mary Brownlow, as well as her son Martin Brownlow, and 2 paintings by Patty Sarden.

129 North Main Street, Greeneville, TN 37743. Hours: 9:30 to 5PM, Monday through Friday. Info: (423) 787-0195, www.james-ben.com

The public is invited to a reception which will take place on Sunday, January 31, from 2 PM to 4 PM with light refreshments. Established in 1963, The Knoxville Watercolor Society has over 50 members, most of whom who will exhibit one of their finest paintings at this show. Most of the work will be for sale. Additional info: 865-482-5181.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Friday, 10AM-8PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. For information: 865-934-2036, www.knoxart.org

China is viewed by most in the Western world as a homogeneous country with a single culture. Its land mass is similar to that of the United States, but it is inhabited by 1.3 billion people, making it the most populous country in the world. This population is composed of more than 56 official ethnic groups, each with its own customs, traditions, language, foods, and in some cases, religious beliefs.

In the many centuries of China’s history, numerous ethnic groups have ruled, and each has made contributions to the art and culture of what we have come to view today as “Chinese.” In this exhibition, the museum presents a brief glimpse into China’s history, with 80 examples of art from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.) to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911 A.D.) and several contemporary works. Panels introducing each of the dynasties provide historical, geographical, and economic background.

1327 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Mon - Sat: 9:00A to 5:00P, Sun: 1:00P to 5:00P. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

Visual artist Anne Wilson has been at the forefront of artwork connecting conceptualism and handiwork, activism and aesthetics, investigating new possibilities for what has been called "relational aesthetics." Discussion with the artist on January 23.

Wilson's practice extends the relational in terms of labor, collaboration, and identity construction, blending pedagogy with aesthetic production. Her work has been exhibited extensively including exhibitions at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan; the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and as part of the 2002 Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Anne Wilson: Wind/Rewind/Weave is an exhibition organized by the Knoxville Museum of Art, installed by Wilson to investigate the crisis of production and skill based textile labor. Included is Rewinds, a new work created entirely in glass; video documentation of Wind-Up: Walking the Warp, a 2008 performance in Chicago; and a large site-specific project, Local Industry, that takes the form of an active weaving/winding factory set up in the museum space. Run over the course of several months, this project will involve the Knoxville community in the collaborative production of a unique bolt of cloth. http://www.annewilsonartist.com

Free admission. Hours: Tues-Thurs 10-5; Fri 10-8; Sat 10-5; Sun 1-5. 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916. 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org, info@knoxart.org

Join us for a glass of bubbly as we toast the New Year and premier the oil paintings of Maryville artist, Chriss Hardy, on Saturday, January 16 from 1-3 p.m. Chriss is fascinated by people in their everyday, active lives and she captures many of these everyday moments on canvas. Included in this collection is a series of shoppers at the Farmer's Market in downtown Knoxville. Chriss loves a multicolor palette and inspires us with her insight.
5607 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri, 10-5:30 ~ Sat, 10-5. Information: 865-584-6097, www.hansongallery.com

First Friday Reception February 5, 5:00 - 9:00pm
The 10th International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition continues a tradition begun by the University of Hawai‘i Department of Art. By invitation only, this exhibition is comprised of 81 sculptures by artists from 14 countries and includes “Meta Physical #4” by Knoxville artist Richard Jolley. The small format of the works in the exhibition, with the subsequent ease and economy of handling, provides exposure to a broad spectrum of contemporary sculpture. These triennial exhibitions were initiated as an attempt to incorporate a variety of multicultural traditions and a range of sculptural ideas, styles, and materials. As geographical borders are fractured and the global context dominates, the identity of the individual often becomes hybrid. Whether defined by the artist’s ethnicity or the location of production, all art is increasingly integrated into the fabric of contemporary society. Although the act of affirming cultural identity becomes more complex, these sculptures demonstrate the imaginative spirit and endless creativity of the individual artist.

Located at 106 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Gallery Hours: Wed – Fri 11-6 Sat 10-3. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown